It was so worth staying up all night. I had only talked on the phone with my friends in different rooms for a couple of hours, packed my suitcase, and taken a shower when it was basically time to see Adam off.
Katie, Adam, and I had become the three most different best friends that could ever be, and we wanted time together before we all left. Katie and I met Adam in the lobby at 3am when no one else was there. As soon as we got downstairs, I started crying so hard - I couldn't help it. It sounds impossible, but even though I have only known these people for ten days, they have inspired and influenced me greatly.
The three of us sat together for about an hour on a couch in the lobby with our arms wrapped around each other. More and more people started coming down, ready to leave too. Basically, all of my friends had early morning shuttles to the airport, whereas mine left at noon.
(Looking a little rough at 3am:)
I was the only one leaving at noon who came down so early, and I looked out of place in the lobby in my nightdress. I've never cried so much in my life - I'm not a crier - in fact I never cry. But there's just something about these people that set me off. I love them all so much after knowing them for only ten days. I never even thought that was possible, but clearly it is. I stood there and cried and hugged and kissed people, promising to call, Facebook, email, text, Skype, and Oovoo all of them as they left one by one: Adam, Mariana, Jay, Avery, Ayesha, Victoria, Muriel, Zach, all of them.
Thankfully, Katie, Juan, and Miguel were leaving at 6, so we had breakfast together for the last time. They were going on the Xian add-on, while the others were going to Hong Kong. The rest of us that were leftover were all going home. Saying goodbye to these three made me cry all over again. I feel all dried up now.
I went back to my room at 6am to finally get some sleep. I woke up again at 10:45 just in time to get ready for checkout. It was lonely in my room without Victoria. I rode to the airport with a bunch of other homeward bound Americans and Canadians. At the airport, I ate lunch with and hung out with Red Sky, who was on my bus but in the Vietnam LGM group. He's really cool. We both agreed that this was the best summer of our lives already just because of GYLC, and we weren't ready at all to go back home.
(With Red Sky:)
Something amazing happened too. I was so bummed out that I didn't get to see Azahn before we left the hotel, but when Red Sky and I were wandering around the airport, someone came behind us - it was Azahn! I was so excited! He was just boarding his plane, so we walked past him at the perfect time. That's definitely fate!
I'm on the plane right now. I still have 7 hours and 11 minutes left before I get to the Newark airport. I miss my friends and I have so many emotions running through me right now. Most of all though, I feel grateful. Grateful to my parents for agreeing to let me go all the way to China by myself and paying for all my trip expenses, grateful to GYLC for giving me the best ten days of my life, and grateful for the truly amazing people I have met. Wish me luck on the last leg of my journey - we're almost over Alaska! Peace...Zmmz <3
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